A Winter's Day Blessing
by shinjushizuka
Summary: An emotionless little girl is helped by a cheerful little boy on a snowy day. Just seeing his smile makes her feel something... could this be... what happiness feels like?


My first fanfic on here! Ah! I always liked Taro and Ayano's pairing. I feel like, if she simply just went up to him stared talking about books then they'd be together in no time! Unfortunately, the game needs a crazy girl so no TaroAyano fluff for me.

Also! I always wondered what would it have been like if Taro and Ayano were childhood friends? Like, she knew him way back then. I'd imagine her being a bit more open and not as shy or nervous around him as a kid and her urge to kill any potential love rivals wouldn't be as prominent if she sees none of the rivals. So, yeah! Enjoy this, don't enjoy this, just leave a like at the end anyway! Jk, jk...

(Please note! Yes, Taro is a very happy boi here. Besides his obsession with books and his averageness, we know practically nothing about him so I'd imagine he was very cheerful.)

Disclaimer: Yandere Simulator belongs to Yandere Dev! I own nothing but this plot and the idea behind Taro's mom.

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It was a cold day. A cold, winter day. Snowflakes fell to the grass barren ground slowly, almost like they were prolonging their time in the heavens before descending to earth. Through the silent emptiness, the silhouette of a child could be seen. The child sat on a merry-go-round. The contraption spun around and round in what seemed to be a steady loop. Around and around. The girl's eyes stared almost emptily at the ground which slowly became more and more white than muddy brown. Her breaths came out in rabid intakes and out takes being seen by the soft puffs of smokey air that left her lips. Her form barely seemed covered up by the thin sweater and pants she wore. She looked pale. She looked lifeless. She might as well be. She couldn't feel. That was enough to make her feel lifeless.

The sound of snow crunching under the weight of a person caught her attention, though not enough for her to actually look up. The crunches grew louder and louder, it being the only sound that filled her ears apart from the soft howls of the wind. Finally, the crunches stopped but a pair of black rain boots were now in her range of sight. They looked the same size as her own. Was it a kid her age? The only time anyone her age talked to her is when they had no idea she's emotionless and empty.

"Hello," a muffled voice spoke. She hardly heard it. She said nothing. Whether she said something or not, it made no difference. Whoever this is would notice she's a strange girl just like everyone else and leave. It didn't bother her. Never did.

"Can you hear me," the boy persisted, lightly tapping her shoulder with a gloved hand, "Aren't you cold?"

The girl finally looked up at the boy's face. Not so surprisingly, half his face was covered by a scarf and a warm looking beanie lay a top his head. She could see the many layers of clothing he was wearing beneath his large jacket. She briefly wondered if he was sensitive to the cold.

The corners of the boy's eyes lifted, the only proof of the relieved smile he wore beneath his scarf. "Oh, you are awake! Hello!"

"Hello," the girl mumbled out, her voice monotonous and uninterested. She watched as the smile in his eyes slowly vanished. Was he leaving, too?

"You are cold," he mumbled, "You're voice sounds all shivery!" The girl didn't notice that. The boy hurriedly began fiddling with the zipper on his jacket. The girl watched him, her eyes still empty. The boy let out a satisfied 'ah' when his pulls finally made the zip descend down the grey jacket. He slipped the jacket off his shoulders and hurriedly draped it over her shoulders. The girl looked down at the jacket in confusion. Didn't he need it?

"There! Now you won't freeze," the boy said cheerfully.

The boy watched the girl and his smile widened when he noticed her cheeks slowly begin to colour a soft pink. The girl hurriedly slipped her arms into the sleeves, the cold finally taking its affect on her. She tried to pull up the zip but struggled immensely.

"Here, let me help," the boy intervened, his hand taking a soft hold of her hand.

The girl's eyes widened. What was that? Something happened when he touched her? It felt... funny. She looked up at him with wide eyes.

The boy used his other hand to pull down his scarf, revealing his face to the girl for the first time. The girl stared at him. Did the world suddenly seem brighter? Why did it look like any snowflakes near him looked like twinkly stars? Why did looking at his bright smile and shining eyes make her feel... good. Very good.

"I always struggle with the zip, too," he said softly prying her hand away from the zip. Her eyes never left him as he worked to pull the zip up. Her heart made a funny thathump when he let out a victorious 'ah-hah!' once the zip began to move once more. The boy nodded satisfied with his work and brought a hand up to his scarf. He piled it off his own neck and wrapped it snugly around hers. She simply let him.

"There! Now you won't get sick," he said, his smile not at all wavering. "Oh! My name! My name is Taro Yamada!"

Her lips began to twitch.

Its sides began to lift.

And for the first time ever, Ayano has given someone a smile of pure happiness.

The girl found herself snuggly wrapped up in a blanket, sitting on the softest loveseat she'd ever been on with a heater sending warm air her way. She looked around the unfamiliar room. Pictures were hung up all over the place. A happy looking married couple and their two children. She found herself looking at the pictures that featured the boy that saved her more than the others. He never looked sad in any of the pictures...

"Okay!"

Her head turned to face the source of the sound and there was the boy again. A soft smile was on his face and a mug was in his hold. "Mama made you some of her special hot chocolate! It's my favourite drink in the whole world! It'll help you warm up faster!"

The girl didn't want to tell him she felt fine, she wasn't cold anymore but his eyes filled with generosity and kindness stopped the words from escaping her throat. A soft blush spread across her cheeks as she took the mug into her hands, feeling his hands briefly touch hers while he handed the mug to her. Her heart continued to race as she brought the rim of the mug to her lips, knowing full well the boy was watching her, probably just to see if she liked the drink or not but it still made her feel fuzzy and tingly and any other thing that felt weird but nice.

She took a tentative sip of the drink. It was sweet. Sweeter than any hot chocolate her mama had ever made for her and it was very creamy. While she usually didn't care about how something tasted, she felt like she really liked this. Was it because Taro had given it to her? Or maybe it was because he liked it a whole lot. She looked up from the mug to find Taro staring at her intently, a smile on his face as he waited to hear what she thought about it. Her face flushed once more as she snuggled further into seat.

"It's very nice," she muttered her eyes moving down to the mug. She glanced up at him again and felt little butterflies swarming through her tummy at the sight of Taro's smile turning into a full out grin.

"I know! I'm happy you like it! Hanako-chan likes it too but she's still really young and Osana doesn't like sweet things a lot. If you come here again, let's have it together, okay?"

She could simply nod as she looked at his bubbly expression and his happy voice. Compared to anything else she had seen, he just seemed so bright... so full of life... Was he sharing it with her? Was that why she could finally feel something again...?

"M-mm," she nodded, a smile spreading on her face a she stared at his sparkly, dark grey eyes. "That sounds really nice, Taro-kun."

"Ayano-chan!"

Ayano looked away from the beaming boy to his mother. She was shorter than her mother and a little chubbier but she was more gentle and caring than her mother. Her black hair was done in a pretty bun and her round eyes, that looked so much like Taro-kun's, looked at with the same look he had. But it didn't make her feel as tingly or giddy as Taro had... "Ayano-chan! I have good news! I just called her mother and she's coming to fetch you! Isn't that great?"

Ayano nodded slowly but the happiness she was feeling was being replaced with something else. Something heavy and made her chest hurt. She frowned as she felt tears in her eyes. Was this sadness? Papa always said sadness was a really painful thing... She looked at Taro's frowning face and the feeling instantly doubled. She didn't want to leave Taro-kun! He made her happy! She didn't want to not feel anything again. She liked being happy and she liked Taro-kun!

"Ayano-chan," Taro looked at her, his eyes widened when he noticed the tears in her eyes. He hurriedly made his way onto the couch and sat next to her. While the sadness was still there, the tingly, happy feeling she had before was also there. "What's wrong? Don't you want to go home to your mommy and daddy?"

"I... I want..." She stumbled over her words slightly before looking up at him. "I want to stay with Taro-kun!"

"Really," Taro asked, blinking in surprise before smiling. "So we are friends!"

"Friends?" Ayano repeated, her own eyes widening. Something she heard so much but never got to experience herself. Taro was.. her friend?

"Yeah! I want to spend time with Ayano-chan, too," Taro smiled before it was replaced by a stern look. Well as stern as a child could make. "But I'm sure your mommy is very worried about you."

Ayano blinked, not entirely sure if that was true. Her mama never seemed too concerned about her. Sure, she was nice but compared to how she saw other parents at school, her mama didn't seem as enthusiastic about her. But she nodded anyway, her sadness still weighing down on her heavily. "But... I want to be with Taro-kun..."

"It's okay, Ayano-chan," Ayano jumped slightly at the feel of a gentle hand on her head. She looked up to see Taro's mother smiling down at her. "I'll make sure you and Taro get to play with each other a lot. You'd like to play with Ayano-chan, too, right Taro?"

"Yeah," Taro nodded happily and looked at Ayano with a wide smile. His mother giggled slightly and nodded.

"You want to be friends with Taro, neh?"

"Yes!" Her response was instant, making both mother and son happy.

"Good! Then I'm glad," Taro's mother nodded. "Oh! Let me get you some cookies for that hot chocolate, too! Drink up, before it gets cold, dear."

Ayano nodded, a smile on her face. She looked over at Taro, her eyes practically having stars in them as she stared at him. Her first friend. Her first friend! Taro-kun was her first friend! The words made her feel extremely happy. She couldn't help but think how much fun she would have with Taro-kun. What were they going to do? What games would they play? His favourite games, she hoped. She didn't have any favourites. Maybe she could share his favourites, too...

Ayano was kept very occupied by an energetic Taro, who was more than happy to show off some of his things for her to keep busy with. His favourite board game, his favourite video game, his favourite book and manga and anime... She looked over everything. She didn't want to forget any of this. She hoped she didn't! This was all Taro-kun's precious things. She wanted them to be precious to her, too... She looked at the boy who was currently explaining his favourite book to her very animatedly, trying his best to tell her what he liked about it while not spoiling it. Ayano was convinced. He had to have been sharing all his specialness with her. That had to be why she could suddenly feel things... Like a normal girl.

The sound the doorbell ringing caught the attention of the two children. Ayano's mug sat on the floor, the girl having long since finished the drink. Taro stopped his explanation on how to play Goldfish at the sudden noise. His mother hurried out the kitchen, sauce and flour still smeared on her apron, and straight to the door. She opened it to reveal Ayano's mother dressed up very snuggly in a form fitting jacket, jeans and boots.

"Good evening, I'm here for Ayano," she said, a gentle smile on her face. Taro's mother nodded.

"Oh! You must be Mrs. Aishi! It's a pleasure to meet you," Taro's mother eagerly shook her hand. "Please come inside for a bit. Ayano's just resting up on the couch."

The two children watched the exchange from the couch, having to turn a full 180 to watch the scene. Ayano felt the sadness return once more. She was really going home and away from Taro-kun! She felt a hand softly land on her head, much in the same way Taro's mother had. She looked to see Taro looking at her with that bright smile.

"Don't worry, Ayano-chan," he grinned. "We'll get to play together again. I liked having you here and next time we're going to get to play together properly! I pinky promise." He held up a pinkie. She looked at it before looking at her hand. She also brought up her pinkie and he wrapped his around her.

"If we break it, we have to swallow a thousand needles so let's keep it, okay," Taro grinned as he shook her pinkie. Ayano stared at their entwined fingers, feeling just a part of his warm hand... She nodded hastily, her cheeks beginning to turn a faint pink.

"Ayano! Time to go!"

Ayano frowned as Taro let go of her pinky and got to his feet. Ayano reluctantly followed after, discarding the blanket she was wearing. She walked around the couch and up to the waiting women. Her mother looked down at her with a smile.

"Ayano! I'm so glad your okay! Don't just go out of the house like that, okay?" She nodded at her mother's words, not at all sorry for sneaking out. She got to meet Taro after all. "Well, let's go home. Your wonderful papa is probably waiting for us! We shouldn't make him wait!" Ayano nodded once more before turning to face Taro. She didn't expected for warm arms to wrap around her and hug her softly.

"Bye Ayano-chan," he said. "Don't forget our promise!"

Ayano nodded, frozen from the move. The butterflies in her tummy were flying around crazily, the tingles and giddiness was back tenfold. She had never felt a hug like this! Before she could return it, he had let her go and moved away from her with a soft smile. Her mother took her hand and began walking out the door. With one last wave, she gave Taro a silent "See you soon." Taro nodded and waved back eagerly.

"I really want to see Taro-kun again... My special friend that taught me how to be happy..."

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So fun fact! This was originally going to be about a girl who finds a boy in a park and befriends him and then the boy becomes a total tsundere to her later on in their lives. I reread it and decided to change it to Ayano and Taro instead cause it fit a lot better.

I'm thinking of making this a two shot, as in we see how they interact as teens and how Ayano is still a little jealous.

Oh! This has also been published on Amino under my name Shizuka so if you see it there, it's still my work!


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